


Spirit of Ice

by starlightwalking



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Back to Middle-Earth Month, Gen, Necromancy, Sauron's Early Attempts At Necromancy!, Stream of Consciousness, Wraith, Wraith Fingolfin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-25 23:05:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18172634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Nolofinwë expects to find freedom in death, but Sauron has other ideas.





	Spirit of Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thishazeleyeddemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishazeleyeddemon/gifts).



> I'm behind in B2MeM again, but what's new? This was for March 17th. My prompt was High Priest from the Archetypes card.
> 
> This fic was inspired by some [awesome fanart](https://arofili.tumblr.com/post/183575445777/heskils-rushed-and-cropped-terrible-terrifying) by [@heskils](http://heskils.tumblr.com/), and by the brilliant mind of Loren/thishazeleyeddemon! <3 We were talking about wraith!Fingolfin and the undead creatures in the Legendarium and that sparked an idea. This is basically Sauron's early experiments with Necromancy, with some unfortunate collateral damage.
> 
> Note on names: Some of Fingolfin's thoughts about Quenya vs. Sindarin names are part of the narration. The Sindar called Sauron "Gorthaur," and that would probably be the name everyone knew him by in the First Age (though maybe "Thu" would be used some places, that's an older name for him). He didn't start being known as "Sauron" until the Third Age (he had a bunch of different names in the Second Age). BUT it's possible the Noldor knew of Sauron before the switch to Sindarin, and since the name "Sauron" is Quenya in origin, it probably originated from the exiled Noldor. Maybe Galadriel named him that and it caught on - or one of the Istari, who knows - but I think it's more likely that the Noldor of the First Age called him Sauron until they switched over to Gorthaur. "Sauron" could very easily be have been used by Fingolfin! Of course, all those titles are basically calling Sauron ugly names, so for himself he would have used Mairon or Tar-Mairon.
> 
> Alright, on with the fic!

All is blood, and pain, and black fire, and his blade is embedded into the heel of the Enemy, useless to save himself—

but he knows there is no saving himself, he chose this, to face Morgoth, to die in defense of this land, in defense of what Fëanáro—

curse it, Fëanor, these Sindarin names never come naturally, he always has to remind himself, but he is nothing if not a man of his word and he bites back his native tongue even in private, he must honor the promise he made to Thingol—

he is High King of the Noldor and he represents his people, he dies now for their sake, he—

 _Ahh._  And then it is over.

For a moment he is free, free of it all: a spirit, rising from the ground and into Elbereth's sky— no, he is not a king beholden to Thingol's laws. He rises to dance among Varda's stars, his fëa free from the bonds of life, and though he regrets he had to die, he is grateful for the reprieve from earthly pains.

A tug at his soul, pulling westward; Nolofinwë— the beauty of his own name brings a smile to image of his fëa—allows the call of Mandos to carry him over the remains of his body— oh, there will penance for his refusal to return to Aman when Arafinwë did, but he knows his deeds have been just—

a bolt of icy pain, like the Helcaraxë's wind, pierces his fëa like an arrow— he  _screams!_  and he is drug violently backward, cold chains binding him, he is drowning in the frozen sea—

his fëa is a fluid thing, a spirit of water, foil to Fëanáro, but he is rigid now, brittle like the blackest ice, he fears the chains will shatter him into a thousand pieces, that he will fall into endless blackness like his daughter-in-law Elenwë and perish, but he has already died—

a laugh cracks across the air, like lightning in a blizzard, and Nolofinwë gasps for breath he does not require. He blinks—as much as one's fëa may—and the scene begins to take shape before him.

It is a dark chamber. It is cold, bitingly so; his fëa is susceptible to the iron chill. Before him stands a figure wreathed in fire, but there is no warmth in the flames. The figure's smile is wide and full of teeth: there is something wolfish about him, despite all his beauty.

Were he yet living, Nolofinwë may not have recognized him truly, but he has slipped into the Unseen Realm and he sees the fallan Maia for who he is: Morgoth's lieutenant, called Gorthaur by the Sindar. Sauron the Deceiver.

"I am Tar-Mairon," growls the fiery being, "and I bind thee to my service, Nolofinwë Arakáno, slave to Darkness and wraith of the bittermost northern winds—"

Nolofinwë  _screams,_ a second time, and the shrill sound echoes within the chamber, building upon itself until Sauron halts in his chanting and Nolofinwë breaks the icy chains that bind his fëa.

The chill of winter pervades his fëa, but in his anger Nolofinwë cares not. Ice spreads from his spectral hands, extinguishing the breath of flame encircling Sauron's form.

"Nolofinwë Arakáno—" Sauron rasps, shaking off the frost that creeps up his spine— "I bind thee to—to my service, thou spirit of wind—"

"Spirit of  _water_ ," Nolofinwë booms. "And I shall be bound to no one, slave of Morgoth, especially not one such as yourself!"

In his fury Sauron's flame ignites again, and Nolofinwë can feel him burning cold against him, the chains reforming. With another scream, he shatters his bonds a second time and forces his fëa high into the chamber, searching for an exit, an escape—

"Nolofinwë Arakáno!" Sauron cries. "I name thee Helchruth, wraith of the bitter cold—"

Nolofinwë explodes at this final insult. The name of a vassal, the name of a Sindarin wraith! He is High King of the Noldor, son of Finwë, spirit of water, survivor of the Helcaraxë— _not_  a thrall of Sauron's empty flame!

"You should have bound me with something stronger if you wanted to make me high priest of your vile religion," Nolofinwë hisses. The chamber caves in on itself, and he sees the sky again. With one last burst of rage he douses Sauron in a shower of snow and flees into the night.

He is free again, but the call of Mandos has faded into the background music of Eä. He can hear the song of the dead no longer; it is lost in the dissonance of Morgoth's rebellion. The stars glitter, cold and distant, and the chill in Nolofinwë's spirit has settled into a core of frozen snow. He could not humble himself in the Halls of Mandos even if he wished.

Nolofinwë takes flight. He sees Thorondor, eagle of Manwë, in the distance, bearing the battered remains of his hröa. He will not attempt to reembody his own fallen form, but Thorondor knows where Turukáno's hidden city lies. He will take refuge there, and attempt to commune with his son and impart the dangers of Sauron's Necromancy.

Findekáno is High King of the Noldor now, but Nolofinwë will not abandon his children and the reasons he followed Fëanáro to Middle-earth. He has been twisted by dark magic, but he is not a creature of Morgoth. He cannot return to the shores of Aman; his task is not yet over.

Nolofinwë is a spirit of ice, and he will use this power as he always has: in defense of the Light.

**Author's Note:**

> ...Sauron learned from his mistakes, huh? Next time he tries to enthrall a wraith, he's going to go for a weaker spirit than a High Elf King! And he's going to use rings to bind them to him... ;) All that practice gives him an easy cover when it comes to the Third Age. A Necromancer can have a spooky hideout in Dol Guldur and no one will suspect a thing! And it's semi-canon that the Necromancer enslaved the spirits of elves who refused the Call of Mandos, so. Seems legit!
> 
> Idk what Fingolfin does after this. The other version of wraith!Fingolfin is that he dies on the Helcaraxe but rejects the Call of Mandos...and then he teams up with Feanor, the spirit of fire to complement his spirit of ice. :)))  
> Related: if this connects to the [Witchking!Tar-Miriel AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114929)... a showdown between wraith!Fingolfin and Witchking!Miriel would be rad as hell!!!!!!
> 
> Last note on names: Sauron was hoping to bend Fingolfin to his will and erase his previous allegiances, so trying to impose another name on him was an attempt to trap him in his magic. The name chosen, "Helcruth" is Doriathran Sindarin meaning "bitter cold wraith"; shoutout to [realelvish.net](http://realelvish.net/) for being my one-stop shop for Tolkien names!
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting!  
> You can find me on tumblr [@arofili](http://arofili.tumblr.com/), and you can find Loren on tumblr [@thishazeleyeddemon](http://thishazeleyeddemon.tumblr.com/)! This AU is mostly their brainchild, after all.


End file.
